Connectivity, control, and changing perceptions: student experiences in South Korean University education during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented changes and disruptions to education systems worldwide, such as replacing in-person classes with online learning. However, the repercussions of this move to online learning on university students’ perceptions of their college experience have received sparse attention from researchers. This research analyzes data from in-depth interviews with 52 students at a South Korean University that went fully online in March 2020 and stayed online for four semesters, allowing for a comparison with offline semesters for the older students and a contrasting analysis of student experiences through a connectivity lens. It used thematic analysis to interpret codes and themes throughout the data. In this process, researchers from three disciplines conducted a collaborative analysis. The key themes identified in the analysis of interview transcripts were convenience and control, different relationships, and satisfaction and emotions. While students appreciated the convenience and control that connectivity provides, with technical and social connectivity perceived to help enhance flexibility, they also discussed the different relationships created as a result of the learning modality and its connectivity rather than the individual’s intentions or personal characteristics: relationships crafted during online semesters are perceived as “light” or “artificial.” Lastly, changing experiences and relationships between students during online and offline semesters resulted in diverse outcomes, with some participants reporting emotional distress experienced due to such changes, while others were relatively untouched, possibly due to different personality structures. The findings have profound implications for universities: it is unclear how the reported differences between in-person and online education might affect student retention, students’ feelings towards their alma mater, and their identity as current students and alumni after graduation beyond the currently mixed evidence regarding learning outcomes in hybrid and fully online university education. In addition, the analysis suggests that different class modes may create stress and isolation, creating further doubts about the equivalence of learning outcomes in offline and online education.